


Reign of the Ram

by geraineon



Series: Guardian Yang au [1]
Category: Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu | Legend of the Galactic Heroes
Genre: Alternate Universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-27
Updated: 2019-07-27
Packaged: 2020-07-23 06:49:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20004079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/geraineon/pseuds/geraineon
Summary: Yang Wenli just wants a calm, quiet life. Unfortunately, Reinhard disagrees.An AU where Yang Wenli was born in the Empire. Eventual Reinhard/Yang but you can read it as gen.





	Reign of the Ram

**Author's Note:**

> This is a part of a sandbox I have with [@beingevil](https://archiveofourown.org/users/beingevil) where Yang is from the Empire, and later becomes the Kaiser. Inspired from a prompt response here: https://twitter.com/GeraiNeon/status/1117032619579977728?s=20.
> 
> There will probably be more in this universe at some point, but please feel free to run wild with this sandbox too.

“Braunschweig is dead.” 

Yang Wen-li carefully put down the document he was reading on top of all the papers on his table and turned his attention to the man who had just entered his study. The young man, Reinhard von Müsel, had been under Yang’s care for the past ten years. Now twenty, he had grown a lot taller than Yang, his shoulders had filled out, and his luscious blond hair now falls past his shoulders. The only unchanged features were his eyes that burn with the intensity of flames turned blue, and his ethereal beauty of a savage angel. 

“Give me a moment,” Yang said. He reached for the bottle of brandy on the table, gave himself a generous pour into his almost empty teacup and took a long sip. It hardly even burn going down his throat anymore, and this has been a necessary ritual ever since he took Reinhard in. He felt Reinhard’s hard gaze on him, and he guiltily put down his cup. Reinhard had been hard on his drinking habits since he had decided that Yang was trustworthy. It was not hard to understand why; Reinhard’s father had been ruined by alcohol. “Alright. Repeat what you said, with more details.” 

“Braunschweig was planning to start a civil war, but you are already expecting that. We don’t have to worry about him anymore,” Reinhard replied, approaching Yang’s table. 

Yang had certainly been expecting that, and he was not surprised that Reinhard had expected it too. They had often come to the same conclusions on many occasions, though their proposed next actions following the conclusions had always diverged slightly. This time, after the announcement of the Kaiser’s death, he had asked Reinhard to stay home, hoping against hope that Reinhard would kindly do as he had implored: Stay at home and out of the fight. The chance of being drawn into the battle of succession was very high, given that the only two people with legitimate claims were Duke Otto von Braunschweig and Yang himself. Braunschweig had military power and legitimacy and is actually related to the late Kaiser through marriage. Yang himself had a military force equal to Braunschweig, and a very small claim to the throne through his mother, the great-granddaughter to the concubine of the Kaiser three generations ago. The details about how his mother chose to marry into Yang’s family rather than have his father marry into her family was minor, in the face of Yang’s military might. The only other person with similar claims to the throne as Otto von Braunschweig was Marquis Wilhelm von Littenheim, but his family had been found to be a carrier of a genetic defect and therefore was out of the running. Yang would really like to not be involved at all, but between Braunschweig being definitely not a good candidate to be leading anything, and everyone already expecting Yang to be part of the fight, avoiding this would have been impossible. In the case of conflict, his plan had been to work with the ex-acting Prime Minister Lichtenlade against Braunschweig and later finding someone more suitable to take the throne to throw his support behind. Fulfilling his promise to dismantle the Goldenbaum dynasty could be worked in stages. Braunschweig dying at such a convenient time was a little too suspicious. 

“How did he die?” Yang asked, quickly giving Reinhard a once over. There were no bloodstains, but that hardly told Yang anything. Ten-year-old Reinhard preferred blunt force trauma, but twenty-year-old Reinhard has many more weapons in his arsenal, usually used in the name of furthering his own cause or protecting Yang. Furthering his own cause and protecting Yang often came hand in hand. 

“Alcohol poisoning, suffocation. Either one will do,” Reinhard said. “He made some comments about my sister last Christmas. Then he sent me a letter inviting me to his house. I decided to listen to what he had to say.” His tone was conversational, but his expression had hardened. “Nobles do like to think they can buy everything with money, don’t they?” 

Yang felt his heart skip a beat. He was not deaf. Many had made lecherous insinuations about the nature of his guardianship over him, and Braunschweig effectively had the other half of the Empire’s military since Littenheim’s fall from grace. No matter how strong Reinhard is, he is still only one person. He quickly got out of his chair, navigated around his table and reached out to Reinhard to pat him down for any bruises and injuries. 

“How much did you drink? What did he do? It would take time for the nobles to decide who they side with so we have time to make our moves.” Yang was already going through plans. If Reinhard had killed Braunschweig and was seen, Friedrich could no longer afford them protection, but Yang could. The only unifying force that could act against Reinhard through Yang would be Lichtenlade, who might take this chance to assert dominance over the scattered nobles who had thrown support behind Braunschweig and take control of Braunschweig’s military force. The strength of that military force would largely depend on who commands them. There were still a few capable and experienced fleet Admirals who would make dangerous enemies.

His thoughts were interrupted by Reinhard’s affectionate laughter. 

“Yang Wen-li, do not worry. Braunschweig did not want me to be seen, so I wasn’t seen going into his house. We talked. He wanted me to go to him. To betray you. He said he could ensure that sister and I be treated better than we ever could be, under your guardianship. He offered to take my sister as a concubine.” Reinhard’s voice turned icy. “It was probably quite an expensive wine he brought out. We drank, and he signed a document. Perhaps because he drank too much, he suffocated to death.” He cupped Yang’s cheek. “Would you treat me better than Braunschweig said he will, Yang Wen-li?”

Yang gently removed the hand. “Reinhard, what happened then?” 

Undeterred, Reinhard touched Yang’s face with his other hand, lightly brushing his hair from his forehead, trailing down his cheek. “Nobody saw me leaving. I won’t bring trouble we cannot overcome back home.” 

Yang felt his heart warm at Reinhard’s use of ‘we’ and ‘home.’ It took a long time to convince Reinhard that he was not his enemy and even more time to gain his trust. Although, he found out a little too late that when Reinhard cared for someone, he cared so deeply that it was sometimes a little terrifying. 

“You mentioned a document,” Yang said, deciding to drop the matter of Braunschweig’s death. It could not have been an accident, that much Yang knew. But whether it was an accident or not, it did not change what they had to do moving forward.

“Otto von Braunschweig confessed to having a defective gene in his bloodline, similar to that of von Littenheim’s. Isn’t it funny? Those most closely related to Friedrich had such problematic genes. Congratulations, Yang Wen-li. You won without a fight.” 

The enormity of Reinhard’s words hit Yang like Thor’s Hammer. 

“I can’t,” Yang muttered. 

He just wanted a quiet life. He had still harbored hope for a quiet life once everything was over. Somewhere with his books. 

“You promised to help me free my sister. You saw how rotten the Goldenbaum Empire has become. Your choice of reading material in your collection reflects your thoughts,” Reinhard said. “I will not accept anyone else.” He cupped Yang’s other cheek with his free hand and forced Yang to look into his eyes. “If you don’t, the Empire will fall into chaos. The court will splinter. No one else has more power and legitimacy right now, and no one else will be able to take the throne uncontested. Yang Wen-li, you have me. I will watch your back.”

Yang closed his eyes and let out a breath. 

In another world, perhaps at another time, he could have lived a modest life. Perhaps he could have been born in the Free Planets Alliance; he had certainly read enough to be intrigued by the prospect of freedom from these chains of bloodline and loyalty to the Empire, and a system that was fairer to everyone. But that was not his reality.

“Let me drink to my last free day, then.”


End file.
